COVID-19 has shifted the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) longstanding policy that representation elections should generally be conducted manually. In a recent example of COVID-19’s impact on representation elections, the Acting Regional Director for Region 10 issued a Decision and Direction of Election on January 15, 2020 requiring an election petitioned for by the Retail, […]
Individuals who are eligible for federal income tax credits can significantly lower their tax obligations. It’s important to differentiate between tax credits and tax deductions. A credit usually provides greater tax savings than a deduction, because a credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. A deduction reduces only the amount of income that’s subject to tax. Here are […]
There are many reasons why business owners decide to permanently close their doors. Perhaps the owners launched a company as friends and the relationship has soured over time. Or maybe the owners are ready to retire and have no plans to sell their company, pass it on, or merge with another business. In many cases, business […]
Many of our impressions about the American judicial system come from our exposure to television and the movies — from the defense of murder suspects on Perry Mason to the investigations leading to multimillion dollar settlements depicted in Erin Brockovich and Michael Clayton. But courtroom activity is rarely as dramatic as it is on the screen. Judges are frequently overwhelmed by a […]
With the new year came a significant expansion of the California Family Rights Act (“CFRA”), which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, protected family and medical leave for certain employees. Under CFRA, specified employers are prohibited from refusing to grant certain leave requests by employees. Employees granted a CFRA leave request must be guaranteed […]
The percentage of retail bank customers who access banking services daily via desktop apps has nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to BAI, a banking association. Rather than risk the possibility of a viral infection, many consumers are checking out ways to do their banking that don’t involve in-person trips to a bank lobby. This […]
The following table provides some important federal tax information for 2021, as compared with 2020. Some of the dollar amounts are unchanged and some changed only slightly due to inflation. Social Security/ Medicare 2021 2020 Social Security Tax Wage Base $142,800 $137,700 Medicare Tax Wage Base No limit No limit Employee portion of Social Security 6.2% […]
You probably spend a great deal of time and money developing unique ideas, products, and services. But the more people who know about your plans, the more you risk losing your secrets. To help protect intellectual property — your vital assets — it’s important to require confidentiality agreements. Sometimes referred to as non-disclosure agreements, confidentiality […]
It’s an employer’s nightmare: You are notified by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that a complaint has been lodged against the company. Many employers are facing this situation, according to EEOC statistics. The number of individuals filing discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims with the federal government has remained high in recent years (see right-hand box […]
Check fraud costs individuals, businesses and financial institutions as much as $12 billion annually, according to some estimates. Forged checks have always been a problem. However, inexpensive laser printers and check quality paper that is easily accessible makes check fraud more of a problem today than ever before. When a Check BouncesIf you receive a bad […]
For even the largest and most sophisticated organizations, internal fraud inquiries can pose numerous challenges that can send a case off track, cause legal expenses to skyrocket, and put your enterprise on the losing side. Ranging from lax investigations to not knowing enough about local law, here are examples of six mistakes that turned victory into defeat: 1. Avoid […]
Restaurants have struggled mightily during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, they’re specifically targeted for a new tax relief measure found in the massive Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), which became law on December 27, 2020. The new provision creates a temporary but meaningful tax incentive to spend more on business-related food and beverage costs. Preexisting tax breaks for […]